Weeks 14-16

Week 14: Second trimester! Such a great milestone to hit!  This is the first week I didn't have an ultrasound scheduled or a doc appt in at least 4 months.  It was weird but good.  I broke out our home heartbeat doppler that I had bought with Skittle.  I was able to find BOTH heartbeats and it made me feel better.

Week 15:  I had my second OB appt where I got a u/s just for heart tones and positioning of the babies.  They were both transverse with their heads on my left side with their booties and legs on my right.  My placenta is posterior (on my back wall) and everything looked good.  The tech confirmed they are both boys!!!

I mentioned that I was concerned about my weight gain and swelling already.  Yes, it's most likely due to the Pred I'm on and my OB was the sweetest ever saying that everything was FINE because I'm carrying twins and that he'd pay for my cheek bones.  HA!  While I didn't believe him, it made me feel better. 

I have been dealing with WICKED migraine headaches that became crippling.  This same thing happened in my second tri with Skittle too.  I was prescribed Fiorocet and while I HATE taking meds like that while preg, I haven't been able to function so I agreed.  It works wonders for me and I don't even have to take a full dose. 

Week 16: I went to my MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine) doc in Birmingham at 16+6 weeks for another scan, blood work etc.  I got my finger pricked which was testing for spina bifida.  Because I'm still on blood thinners, I bled through two bandaids and got blood everywhere on the first test and had to redo it.  Then I went for my u/s.  It was a long scan.  Here is where things get hard.  The tech was great but was having a hard time getting accurate doppler readings on baby A's cord.  Because I have mono/di twins (they share a placenta) I'm in the second highest risk category.

*Here is an image of the different types of twins. Mine are the third kind here:

Every two weeks I have to be scanned for Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) and something called TAPS.  As the tech was measuring amniotic fluid levels for both babies, even *I* knew something wasn't right.  Baby A's fluid was very low and baby B had double the amount of A.  That is the first sign of TTTS.  The tech isn't allowed to say anything but she did give me the measurements. A had 2.8cm of fluid, B had 5.8cm.  Not good.  I've done enough reading on this to know something wasn't right.  She watched blood flow from the cords to their bellies and it took a long time for her to get the readings on A.  While I wasn't panicking at that point, warning bells were starting to go off in my head.  She finished all the measurements and told me baby A was 5 oz and baby B was 6 oz.  That at least was good news.  They weren't too far off from each other.  The membrane between both babies is VERY thin.  It was almost impossible to see today but we did get a glimpse. 

I also had to have a internal scan done (vaginal camera) just like I did a million times at my RE.  I am used to it so it didn't bother me.  She measured my cervix length and made sure it was closed.  All good.  It was 3.8cm and totally closed.  (They want to see over 2.5cm)

She told me to get dressed and that she'd bring the doc in to see me.  I sat there quite a while waiting for them...

The doc came in and told me he wanted to scan me himself.  That triggered another red flag and I tried not to freak out.  Since when does a doc want to do the actual scan?  Not good.  He was very quiet during the u/s and took more measurements.  Then he sat me up and we had a long chat.  Things aren't great for baby A.  His cord is a 2 vessel cord (B's is the normal 3).  And while many singleton babies have 2 vessel cords and are perfectly fine, my situation is a little different.  I have two babies using one placenta and baby B is getting more blood and nutrients at this point.  It's causing a growth restriction in A and the blood flow from his cord to his tummy isn't right.  The doc said he hasn't seen anything like it so he consulted another specialist that deals only with monochorionic twins.  They both agreed it looks like sIUGR, selective intrauterine growth restriction, which is a form of TTTS.  While sIUGR isn't always fatal, it can be.  His fluid level and his blood flow is also concerning.  The specialist said that surgery isn't recommended yet, but could very well be in the near future and that I need to be prepared for it.  The surgery would separate blood vessels between the two babies to allow for better sharing of the placenta.  There is NO one in AL that preforms that surgery.  I would go to Houston for it so I could stay with family to recover-and have child/pet care during all of this.  I was told that it was imperative that I come back in a week for a follow up scan to see any changes.

I covet your prayers once again.  Having to go through all this while my husband is away is just plain hard.  The unknown is ALWAYS hard but now it deals with the life and possible death of my babies.  I knew these risks carrying identical babies but I had hoped it wouldn't happen to me.  Will you be praying for our babies?  Pray for a miracle for baby A.  Pray my placenta can handle both babies with equal nutrients to both, that baby A can catch up growth wise, and his fluid levels would match B's.  I'm not going to lie, I'm scared for them.  I'm scared for the surgery that I'll have to endure without my husband.  I KNOW God can do anything and that He can save these babies.  I've been praying that He uses this for good and that He will be seen through it all.

I'll update again in a week after my next appt.

My boys!